JPMorgan kicked off earnings season with a solid beat, posting $15 billion in profit as corporate dealmaking rebounded more than expected last quarter. Citigroup, meanwhile, smashed expectations, reporting total revenue that was up by 16% from the same period a year ago. Wells Fargo also reported higher Q2 profits after the Federal Reserve lifted its asset cap, though its stock fell after it lowered its annual forecast for net income. Overall, it was a more-good-than-bad day for the US’ biggest banks, providing further evidence that they’re weathering the tariff-induced economic uncertainty better than most.
Jamie Dimon said Fed independence is “absolutely critical.” The...
Jamie Dimon said Fed independence is “absolutely critical.” The JPMorgan CEO threw his unwavering support behind the concept of an independent Federal Reserve amid President Trump’s ongoing attacks on Chairman Jerome Powell. “Playing around with the Fed can often have adverse consequences, absolutely opposite of what you might be hoping for,” Dimon said yesterday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that the process to identify Powell’s successor has already started, and he claimed that Trump’s criticism of the chairman is simply “working the refs” to cut interest rates. Powell’s term as Fed chair ends next year, but his term as one of the Fed governors isn’t up until 2028.
The US House voted against taking a procedural step to begin the process of advancing a series of crypto-friendly bills, delivering a temporary blow to “Crypto Week.”
Amazon is delaying the launch of a web-based version of its voice assistant, Alexa, the Washington Post reported.
The DOJ shut down two investigations into predictions platform Polymarket, potentially laying the foundation for its entry into the US market, Bloomberg reported.
SiriusXM is launching its first ad-supported tier, which will cost ~$7 a month and feature limited commercials.
Biggest Crude Inventory Build of Decade Slams Oil Bulls
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories...
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose sharply for the second week in a row, this time gaining an additional 19.10 million barrels in the week ending July 11. That’s on top of last week’s 7.1 million barrel build. It is the largest single-week build reported by the API in at least a decade.
Analysts were a mile off, estimating a 2.0-million-barrel draw.
So far this year, crude oil inventories are up 30 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data, with the trajectory of crude oil demand running contrary to the expected seasonal drawdown brought on by the typical spike in summer demand.
Oil slips as Trump's 50-day deadline for Russia eases supply fears
(Reuters) - Oil prices dropped by less than 1% on Tuesday...
(Reuters) - Oil prices dropped by less than 1% on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine and avoid sanctions eased concerns about any immediate supply disruption.
Brent crude futures settled down 50 cents, or 0.7%, at $68.71 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 46 cents, or 0.7%, at $66.52.
"The focus has been on Donald Trump. There was some fear he might target Russia with sanctions immediately and now he has given another 50 days," said UBS commodities analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "Those fears about an imminent additional tightness in the market have dissipated. That's the main story."
Oil prices had climbed on the potential sanctions, but later gave up gains as the 50-day deadline raised hopes that sanctions could be avoided.
In the event the proposed sanctions are implemented, "it would drastically change the outlook for the oil market," analysts at ING said in a note.
China, India, and Turkey are the largest buyers of Russian crude oil. They would need to weigh the benefits of buying discounted Russian crude oil against the cost of their exports to the U.S.," ING said.
Dow falls over 400 points after June CPI, but chip stocks power Nasdaq to record
U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Tuesday after consumer...
U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Tuesday after consumer prices in June posted the biggest increase seen since earlier this year, potentially preventing the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates later this month.
But Wall Street saw a tale of two markets on Tuesday, as a rally in shares of semiconductor names propelled the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to a fresh all-time closing high.
The Nasdaq Composite ended up 0.2% at near 20,677, according to preliminary data from FactSet.
The S&P 500 was off 0.4% to end at around 6,243.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 400 points, or nearly 1%, ending near 44,023.
